Abdolkarim Shahbakhsh

He is one of the Baluch Prisoners exiled to Ardebil Prison. Mr.Shahbakhsh was a shepherd before his arrest and it is said that all the hardship he has gone through is because he offered food and water to some strangers

<coverage-outsourcing id='13359'> He was arrested and transferred to Zahedan Intelligence lockup. He was transferred to Zahedan Prison a month later </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13358'> He was exiled to Ardabil prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13361'> In June 2014, Ardebil Prison authorities pulled four Sunni Baluch prisoners out of their ward and put them in the hands of 60 to 70 of strongly religious Shia prisoners. According to numerous reports, the Sunni Baluch prisoners were assaulted and battered and abused as the "enemies of Imam Ali". Abdolkarim Shahbakhsh says that one of the prison staff whose father was killed by Kurdish forces was shouting that "These people killed my father, avenge my father" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13257'> Harana reported that Nour Ahmad Hassan Zehi, Ali Pazhgol, Abdolkarim Shahbakhsh, Maher Kabi, Mohammad Saber Malek Raeesi, and Shir Ahmad Shirani are kept in a quarantine-like ward in Ardebil Prison. The Ward is a 10 to 15 sqm room with 18 beds and a small yard. The prisoners are allowed to leave the ward for 15 minutes to make phone calls. It is said that the prisoners and their families are treated so rudely that some of them have asked their families not to come for visits </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13360'> In a detailed report, Harana explained Abdolkarim Shahbakhsh's case. According to the report, he was a shepherd who one day met a few people in the mountain and offered them food water just to show kindness. A while later he was arrested by Zahedan Intelligence forces and severely tortured to confess where he has hidden them. He was even tied to the miracle bed in Zahedan Intelligence lockup. He was once so severely tortured that they had to resuscitate him, and he had to breathe with an oxygen mask after that. Finally, the Intelligence agents have shown him (who is illiterate) a paper and told him that he has been proven innocent, and they asked him to put his thumbprint on it. He found out later in prison that they had lied to him and the paper was actually a confession to "cooperating with the Rigi group". "When I heard it, my whole body went cold. The interrogators had not even asked me one question about that." His trial was held after four months and while Mr. Shahbakhsh was awaiting his freedom, he received a sentence of 15 years in prison in exile. Abdolkarim Shahbakhsh says he cannot even speak Persian, and he has had great difficulties with Turkish. After four months, he was transferred from Ward 7 for political prisoners to Ward to for counseling, where he was constantly insulted because of his faith. He says that finally one of the prisoners defended him which ended the insults. He returned to Ward 7 again after 4 months. According to Mr. Shahbakhsh, prisoners in this ward are only allowed to speak to their families in Persian language, and this makes it impossible for someone like who cannot speak the language. The report also states that he was told in the medical ward that the "Prison organization will not pay for your treatment because of your crime" and during his long incarceration, his family is left without a breadwinner, and he is unable to pay for his medical treatment </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='20905'> Went on furlough </coverage-outsourcing>